New Magic Set? Did Somebody Say New Commander Stuff?
Now that Battle for Zendikar is officially out, and singles are lining binders and boxes are in stores, I thought it would be the perfect time to do a small breakdown of the set from an EDH perspective. So here I shall list my top ten cards from this set. Notably I'm going to exclude lands, Planeswalkers and Legendary Creatures that are only good as Commanders, because those things in any given set usually speak for themselves.
10. Quarantine Field
This thing is just a load of fun, White rarely gets single cards that can deal with a multitude of opponents' threats while keeping their own alive, so even if this thing is a bit mana-heavy I think it will be a popular choice in White decks.
9. Ruinous Path
Here is a card for Black decks that aren't aggressive or for Red deck that have needed another way to straight up answer a Planeswalker. Ruinous Path may be irritating Standard players because its name is not Hero's Downfall but I believe this thing is a welcome addition to anybody's EDH collection.
The two cost ability of this card has already existed in a one mana and a three mana version on other cards. Both of those variations see regular play. So while Hedron Archive isn't likely to break any combos anytime soon, this card will be a welcome addition in the Mind Stone and Dreamstone Hedron family.
This thing is the card Mono-Black, Mono-Blue and Mono-Red, (and their various combinations) have been begging for: a way to deal with Gods, and other tough permanents. Sure it's a bit costly, but the effect is certainly going to find itself being worth it in the right games.
I particularly enjoy the prospect of turning the majority of my lands into Temples, or tapping down my opponent's only blocker. If there's a card that excites me enough to want to play it in Standard or Modern, usually it's pretty solid for EDH and I believe this one to be no exception.
Not much explanation needed here, most extra turn spells are monsters in EDH, and one that produces a body while you're at it is just wonderful.
Eternal Witness is an EDH staple, Green decks like doubling things and expensive spells that have good value to them. So a double E-witt at double the cost seems pretty great, I can't see a reason not to shove this in every Green deck.
Mono-white recursion of noncreature permanents is very rare. Having a way to do it pretty much every turn can get out of hand really quickly. If the cards above this one weren't so amazing this could have been the best card in the set for EDH.
The reason I love the Landfall mechanic so much is because it essentially rewards you for playing the game, this does the opposite. This guy rewards you for
your opponents TRYING to play the game, and punishes them for doing so. If you can snag this guy into play against any ramping deck they'll be stuck holding their lands until they draw removal, because the moment they play a land they'll lose the removal spell they so desperately need. This is the definition of what a Mythic Rare should be, flavourful, not wallet breaking, and extremely unique and fun.
1. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
I remember the moment I saw the name of this fall expansion, I hoped we'd get at least one Eldrazi that's on par with the original titans. When this thing was spoiled I was more than satisfied. His cast trigger is even more busted than Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, he can be targeted by reanimation spells because he loses the "upside" shuffle in effect, and can end a game in roughly four swings regardless of whether or not he is blocked. Oh, and did I mention that he's got Indestructable? While not necessarily as budget-friendly as the Eldrazi at the second spot on my list, this guy is going to be permanently etched into every future-written list of EDH staples. Of that I am positive.
Thanks for reading everybody, I hope you're all as pleased with this set as I am, I know anyone that runs Allies in EDH is at least.
